I was watching the TSN game tonight and between periods the guys said something about the concussion came from his head hitting the ice, not from Sarich *defending himself. Gee, I wonder why his head hit the ice?

And I read in another story that, why Hall "lost his balance" and that's why he got headshot by Sarich. As if that is what led to the concussion, and not the vicious *self-defense by Sarich.

But interestingly enough, in the youtube vid I post here at about the 0:10 mark... it sure as hell looks (in slow mo) that Sarich was *defending himself by leading with the shoulder at a level that WOULD HAVE ANNIHILATED Taylor's H-E-A-D.The fact that the guy "lost his balance" probably saved his life, even if it didn't prevent the concussion.

(Read that again please. Because I know reading comprehension isn't the best on these boards at times.)

I like to imagine Matt Cooke pulling such a hit. I like to remember how Cooke was crucified over the whole Tyutin hit last year.

Are you kidding? This is the most silly argument against head shots ever. If Taylor Hall doesn't fall we are not talking about this play at all. This is why I am against an all inclusive headshot rule. This is just silly to say Sarich was playing dirty or anything of that matter here. Just wow.

His feet left the ice because the collision caused him to trip. He's skating towards Hall who is going after the puck, Hall falls and Sarich collides with him. Don't think there's really anything else to it.

Henry Hank wrote:His feet left the ice because the collision caused him to trip. He's skating towards Hall who is going after the puck, Hall falls and Sarich collides with him. Don't think there's really anything else to it.

To me, it looked like Sarich had him line up for a big hit - but not necessarily an illegal hit. When Hall fall, Sarich had no time to get out of the check.

Henry Hank wrote:His feet left the ice because the collision caused him to trip. He's skating towards Hall who is going after the puck, Hall falls and Sarich collides with him. Don't think there's really anything else to it.

To me, it looked like Sarich had him line up for a big hit - but not necessarily an illegal hit. When Hall fall, Sarich had no time to get out of the check.

Exactly. Hall was going to get destroyed whether he fell or not, but you can't just assume that Sarich was going to hit him illegally.

Henry Hank wrote:His feet left the ice because the collision caused him to trip. He's skating towards Hall who is going after the puck, Hall falls and Sarich collides with him. Don't think there's really anything else to it.

:thumb:

To me, it looked like Sarich had him line up for a big hit - but not necessarily an illegal hit. When Hall fall, Sarich had no time to get out of the check.

Exactly. Hall was going to get destroyed whether he fell or not, but you can't just assume that Sarich was going to hit him illegally.

An illegal hit was the likely outcome, so it's best that Hall fell down.

The hit on Hall was unfortunate, but not malicious. Cory Sarich, who would be the Flames most active player in the contest, went for a hit on the puck carrier and Hall lost his footing moments before the hit. As a result, by the time Sarich reached him, Hall’s head was at waist level.

I also enjoy your sarcastic jab at our "reading comprehension". I think your "watching comprehension" is a little lacking.

Rylan wrote:Are you kidding? This is the most silly argument against head shots ever. If Taylor Hall doesn't fall we are not talking about this play at all. This is why I am against an all inclusive headshot rule. This is just silly to say Sarich was playing dirty or anything of that matter here. Just wow.

This kind of play is also why I'm against an all-inclusive headshot rule too. A player slips and gets hit in the head on the way down and that should be illegal? WTF?

As far as Sarich lining him up to really level him.....yeah, he was, and so what? Hall is frankly lucky he slipped because he was going to get creamed and probably within the confines of the rulebook too.

Idoit40fans wrote:I wish he wouldn't have fallen so I could see him really get lit up. You can ban all contact to the head and that kid's career is still going to end due to a head injury. He never protects himself.

This. Frankly, I'm shocked that this is his first concussion in the NHL, and the Oilers are lucky it is as minor as it is, maybe he'll yet learn to protect himself before its too late.